Power to cut funding and stricter 'permanence' test under new NDIS

Mark Butler would gain powers to cut funding supports below the level deemed "reasonable and necessary" under new NDIS legislation. (ABC News: Callum Flinn) New NDIS powers will allow the minister to cut funding for some supports at will, and create a stricter test to ensure a disability is permanent. There are also powers to automate some decision-making in the scheme, though the government says it has learned from Robodebt. A Senate inquiry for the NDIS reforms has been established, which is due to report by mid-June. Link copiedShareShare articlePowers to automate some decisions in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), a new civil penalty scheme and a wider test to require participants to exhaust "all other options" before gaining access will form part of the overhauled NDIS. A so-called "permanence" test already exists in the NDIS to ensure there are no available or known treatments that could alleviate the need for someone to join the major disability support scheme. Under legislation introduced this morning by NDIS Minister Mark Butler, that test will now also apply to the cohort that was previously granted automatic access, and will clarify that alternative treatments will have to be "exhausted" before the disability is deemed permanent. Federal politics live updates: For the latest budget reactions, including what's likely to be in Angus Taylor's reply speech, read our blog. "The NDIS was designed for people with permanent and significant disability. If a person can access treatment that will treat or alleviate the impact of an impairment, the NDIS is not the appropriate service system," a spokesperson for Mr Butler said. Mr Butler has committed to reducing NDIS spending, saving $35 billion from the scheme over a decade and removing at least 160,000 participants, while reducing funding amounts from others. The government says spending must be reined in to "save the NDIS from itself", before the public loses faith in what could fast become the Commonwealth's most expensive payment program. The Greens have already made clear they will not support the reforms, meaning the government will need the Coalition's agreement to pass the legislation. The Coalition has offered in-principle support, recognising the need to curb growth. The bill has been referred to the Senate for inquiry with a reporting date of June 16. The bill lays the groundwork to introduce a new "functional capacity" test to replace how people gain access to the NDIS, ending the "access lists" that grant some people automatic eligibility while requiring some others to sometimes pay thousands for multiple reports to prove their impairment. It also formally defines functional capacity for the first time, as someone's ability to undertake an activity without support from other people, assistive technology or modifications, in the areas of mobility, communication, social interaction, learning, self-care and self-management. The work to flesh out that new test will be undertaken by a new advisory group and phased in from January 2028, after agreement with the states and territories. Health Minister Mark Butler has unveiled sweeping cuts to the ballooning National Disability Insurance Scheme, aimed at cutting costs of the program down to $55 billion by the end of the decade. Mr Butler said the government would consult on what costs the government would cover and what prospective participants would have to pay. Additionally, new rules will limit how a person's needs are funded to clarify that where multiple impairments or comorbidities exist, only the support needs from impairments that qualify for NDIS support will receive funding, and not those that indirectly add to a person's impairment. A new power will allow the minister to cut funding amounts across the board for some supports, such as to community participation budgets, meaning funding could be reduced without needing to reassess participants plan-by-plan. For example, if the minister made a determination to cut community participation budgets by 25 per cent, a participant with a $40,000 community participation budget would have it reduced to $30,000 at their next plan reassessment (or 25 per cent less than whatever the assessor deems that person requires).

Power to cut funding and stricter 'permanence' test under new NDIS

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